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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

My sister has been staying a couple of nights a week this month while she has been working in Melbourne, so we've been taking it in turns to cook dinner. I'd forgotten how nice it is to sit on the couch and let someone else cook!Of course, when I really can't be bothered, I just head to my older sisters - there's always plenty of food in their house. I dropped in just in time for Tacos last week - yum.I can't forget my favourite takeway from the local Turkish restaurant - I just call and ask for a number 9 - marinated lamb fillet, char grilled, and served with a yoghurt and tomato sauce on top of toasted turkish bread....mmmmmm

Oh and lots of chocolate of course - still eating Peppermint Frogs, but also Nestle Crunch

Watching

I'm so happy that I have Foxtel again! I can IQ all of my favourite shows and watch them when I want (and fast forward through all of the annoying ad breaks) - bliss!

I'm also seriously addicted to Masterchef. I usually watch while I'm eating dinner and it always makes me hungry, especially when they make yummy desserts.

You name it, I've probably made it this month.Bags, scarves, pants, pencilcases, keychains, lanyards, keyrings, aprons... the list goes on - but if you haven't already guessed, I'm surrently just a little obsessed with making brooches.I have some more crochet experimentation happening in the wings - keep an eye out for the next instalment.Oh, and I managed to suprise myself by signing up for an outdoor market in the middle of winter!

Hoping

That the lurgy has been banished for the rest of winter - ENOUGH ALREADY!

With only 3 sleeps to go, the excitement is mounting. I'm making lots of lists so that I don't forget any of the necessary items (especially a chocolate stash).

The hardest thing is trying to decide with crafty projects to take. I'm the queen of the quick and easy project - I get bored with anything that takes too long, so I need to make sure that I have plenty of things to chop and change with.

I'm having problems with my Telstra Wireless internet at the moment - especially at night. I couldn't comment on any blogs lastnight - I just kept getting page load errors, so sorry if I haven't said hello!

Monday, June 29, 2009

These were for my sisters husbands fathers girlfriend, or my sisters father-in-laws girlfriend, or my brother-in-laws fathers girlfriend..... anyhow, hopefully you get what I mean.My sister found this tea towel in an oppy in Ballarat - it's perfect because the birthday girl has a black labrador.

First on the list - a big thankyou to Ann Marie for this adorable little pocket mirror with a vintage picture. Isn't it sweet! It's now living in my handbag.

Next on the list, a huge thankyou to Jay from Finki. When I arrived at the market last Saturday, she gave me a beautifully wrapped pressie. Inside was a vintage 1974 (the best year) tea towel, this amazing piece of vintage fabric.....

....and this beautiful handmade art journal / sketchbook (this will be perfect for sketching out my new crafty ideas).

Later on in the day, we did a little swap.

I picked up this gorgeous little card holder for my handbag. I couldn't resist the beautiful colours, and the sweet hand stitching.

There's plenty of room inside to hold everyone's business cards....

...and this is the cutest - it has a little elastic and button closure to keep it closed in your bag.

Friday, June 26, 2009

This is what happens at my house when somebody (who is extremely impatient) wants his dinner. It also must be Kit-e-Kat Chicken Chunks in Gravy as he won't eat anything else.

Anyway, after the interruption, I was trying to photograph todays oppy finds....

I spent most of the day in the car with my mum, but we did have time for a little opping on our travels.

I found a new op shop today (new to me - not new new) at the Sunshine Hospital. That's where I found the lovely orange cup and saucer set. They're a bit stained and grubby, so I have them soaking at the moment. They will look lovely in my bookcase. I think they were $4 for the set.

In the afternoon, I was going to get stuck in traffic at a level crossing, so I took a detour to one of the local Salvos shops (ok - I would have only had to wait about three minutes for the train to pass, but it was as good an excuse as any).

I headed straight for the big basket of doilies, and sorted through them all. I didn't find any that were perfectly suited for my brooches, but I picked out a few to experiment with anyway. On the way out, I spotted the little brown oven dish - it's the perfect size for a meal for one!

Frances kindly offered to model it for me thismorning - I thought that might be more attractive as I'm still in my banana print flannelette pj's (I could join the bananas in pyjamas).This is my very first zippered handbag pocket. I'm actually amazed at just how easy it was (due to Nikki's fantastic instructions).

I'm going to fill it up with my various bits and bobs and hit the op shops later on today...yippee!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

I've started sewing my Baguette using the lovely floral print that I received from Linda a few weeks ago. I'm following the instructions to the letter, and not wingin' it at all (I want to make sure that this one works perfectly).

Alas, my lunch break is over - time to get back to the sewing machine.

With any type of crafting that I do, I really like to just 'wing it' and have a go. Things don't always go to plan, and the end result is not always what I was visualising in my head.

Case in point above: This is a pressie for a sweet little girl who likes to do some baking with her mum. I was trying to make a chefs hat like the one that I made earlier, but once I'd gathered the piece of fabric for the top of the hat, I realised that it was far too small for a chefs hat.So now it's a bakers hat!

I found a really small teatowel from the stash to transform into an apron - it nearly reaches her ankles at the moment.... but at least her clothes will stay clean.

So that's what I call 'Wingin' it 101'

As a thankyou, I received some beautiful creations - this one is a scary monster

Monday, June 22, 2009

I seem to have an uncanny knack for winning lovely bloggy giveaways.... it's a pity my lady luck vibes don't seem to be able to be superimposed into some other critical areas of my life.

I was very lucky to win a fabulous giveaway over at Pivotal Expressions last week. You have to go and check out the draw. Beky's dog had to choose a schmacko to pick the winner...hilarious!

I received a really funky set of printed cards designed by Beky and a cool crafty bookmark.Beky has an Etsy Shop and she's also going to be at the next Made'n'Thornbury market on September 5th.

Thanks Beky!

I also had a little bit of a craft shopping spree again last week... paypal is like having monopoly money. I bought one of Michelle's gorgeous Loving the Vintage caravan brooches, with the intention of giving it to my sister (there's an in joke about caravans with her and her hubby).... but now I don't want to actually give it away!

I also couldn't resist buying a Royal Sisters chocolate brown crocheted necklace for winter (there's something cosy about chocolate brown at this time of the year), and Michelle included a beautiful matching hairband as well, which will be perfect considering that I haven't been to the hairdresser since March (hello grey tips).

I came with some lovely goodies (as per usual), which I'll show later in the week. I also came home with cupcakes and gingerbread men (already eaten) from Melbourne Epicure... and a lovely Olive Loaf which will be demolished today.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Inspired by Christina's post yesterday, I decided to pop into my local Vinnies for a little scout around. I hadn't been for a visit for a whole two weeks (which feels like a lifetime).

Something horrible has happened while I've been away. There's either a new Manager or a new pricing system, because suddenly everything is far too expensive.

I found two really nice tops but they were both $9 each. Eeeek! I can buy a new top for that same price...... and what about the GFC? The dresses were a minimum of $15.I don't live in a trendy inner suburb, this is an op shop in the outer suburbs which should be catering for families.

In the end, the only thing that I came home with was this corduroy skirt from the $1 specials rack..... it's large enough for another pair of kiddie pants.

I must say that I was extremely dissapointed. I'm wondering whether I should be writing a letter of complaint to their head office. I never thought I'd be one of those letter writing people..... but I did write to my local council last week too (sheesh.... I really am getting old and crotchetty).

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Everything seems to be flying past and leaving me behind at the moment.

Amidst the brain fog, I'd completely forgotten to tell the tales about a recent sewing day.

I was lucky enough to be able to head into Nikki's studio with some other lovely blogless ladies, to learn how to sew simple tops with no patterns, and to try to alleviate some of my overlocking fears.

I took in some test fabric to play with. With my skin tones, I obviously can't actually wear this colour (makes me look more than a little like someone who belongs in a morgue), but it was perfect for a toile.

I started with a simple tube of fabric, and then Nikki showed me how to cut the armholes in the tube, cut arms from another piece of fabric, and then use the overlocker to sew them into place (try not to look too closely, as I managed to sew in one of the arms inside out...whoops!).

It was really interesting to see how this process worked on different body shapes. It makes you much more aware of how clothes actually fit. I have small shoulders, so it was a bit of a struggle to get the shoulder and arm area correct. It would have been much easier if my shoulders were in proportion to my hips.... but I love the fact that I can actually make a top which is the perfect length to cover the things that I would prefer to hide.

I'm definitely going to try this again in a proper fabric, and I'll be making sure that things are in the right way first.

I also managed to whip up a couple of pairs of trackie daks for the twins on the overlocker, using Nikki's fab hem/seam trick which creates a band - I've forgotten to take a photo of them and I don't know how to actually explain it (I'm blaming the brain fog). I have cut up some more fleece to make some more trackie daks so I will try to take photos and explain it in another post.

Monday, June 15, 2009

I won it in a giveaway on Ainsley's Manca Un Bottone blog. What I didn't realise, was that Ainsley had a stall at the Daylesford Makers Market, so I could have literally bumped into her and not even known!

My sister actually bought a gorgeous purple button bracelet at the market, so when she came to visit yesterday, we were wearing matching bracelets.

Friday, June 12, 2009

I saw these beautiful Sheeps Clothing mug cozies on Staceys blog a couple of weeks ago, so I couldn't resist. I ordered a pink one for me (of course), a green one for my older sister, and a purple one for my younger sister.

The colours are just amazing, really deep and rich, and they're so soft. I delivered the green one today, and I'll be handing over the purple one on the weekend. It makes me want to go and make a cuppa just so I can use mine. If you need to buy a gift that would suit anyone, then one of these would be perfect!

I also bought another little gift just for me. I've been meaning to make myself a needlecase forever! I always end up with a huge mess when I try to pack up my sewing supplies for crafty days out.

I spied this one over at Selina's Vintage. Selina has used vintage chenille and a vintage hanky to create this gorgeous needlecase.

Inside has plenty of room for lots of pins and needles....

.... and there was also an extra special suprise of vintage tea towels! How cool is this one from Disneyland? Thankyou so much Selina.